Installer Options

The one-line installer reads a handful of environment variables that let you pre-seed configuration, skip components, or override safety checks. Pass them with sudo -E so they survive the switch to root.

Syntax

SKYTRACKER_LAT=37.7749 \
SKYTRACKER_LON=-122.4194 \
SKYTRACKER_NAME="Rooftop SF" \
  curl -sSL https://get.skytracker.ai | sudo -E bash

If you pipe to sudo bash without -E, root's environment is used instead of yours and these variables will appear empty. Always use sudo -E.

Station identity

Variable	Default	Description
`SKYTRACKER_NAME`	Auto-detected city	Display name for the station. Shown on skytracker.ai if the station is shared.
`SKYTRACKER_LAT`	IP geolocation	Station latitude in decimal degrees (positive = north).
`SKYTRACKER_LON`	IP geolocation	Station longitude in decimal degrees (positive = east).

If you don't pass these, the installer asks an IP-geolocation service for approximate coordinates and a city name. You can overwrite them later by editing /etc/skytracker/config.yaml.

Component flags

Variable	Behavior
`SKYTRACKER_SKIP_DECODER=1`	Don't install `readsb` or tar1090. Use when you already have a decoder running and want SkyTracker to consume it. See Running Alongside Other Feeders.
`SKYTRACKER_REPLACE_READSB=1`	Override the installer's safety check and replace an existing decoder. Use only on a single-purpose device; will break FR24/FlightAware/ADS-BX feeds that depended on the previous install.

Examples

Fixed rooftop install, known coordinates

SKYTRACKER_NAME="Rooftop SF" \
SKYTRACKER_LAT=37.7749 \
SKYTRACKER_LON=-122.4194 \
  curl -sSL https://get.skytracker.ai | sudo -E bash

Coexist with an existing piaware feeder

SKYTRACKER_SKIP_DECODER=1 \
  curl -sSL https://get.skytracker.ai | sudo -E bash

# then edit /etc/skytracker/config.yaml and set:
#   sources.dump1090_url: "http://localhost/dump1090-fa/data/aircraft.json"
sudo systemctl restart skytracker

Fresh single-purpose box, force-replace whatever's there

SKYTRACKER_REPLACE_READSB=1 \
  curl -sSL https://get.skytracker.ai | sudo -E bash

Changing settings after install

The env vars are one-shot; they affect install only. To change settings later, edit /etc/skytracker/config.yaml and restart the service:

sudo nano /etc/skytracker/config.yaml
sudo systemctl restart skytracker

Every variable above maps to a field in that YAML — SKYTRACKER_LAT and SKYTRACKER_LON become station.location.lat and .lon, SKYTRACKER_NAME becomes station.name.